HEMET: Proposed rental fee draws opposition

Many senior citizens who live in mobile homes in Hemet are expected to turn out for a committee meeting on Thursday, Jan. 24, to protest a proposed renterâs fee.

Members of the cityâs Restoring Our Community Strategy committee have suggested charging a $25 per renter monthly fee, which would go toward public safety.

Daniel Goodrich, chairman of ROCS, said no decision will be made at Thursdayâs meeting, which begins at 3:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Hemet Public Library.

âThereâs not enough information now for the committee to be able to make a recommendation,â he said by phone on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

If such a fee were to be enacted, it would need approval from the City Council.

Goodrich said the proposal came as the committee was looking for ways to get more money for police and fire protection.

âThe idea of the committee is that we need to raise fees, which will raise income, and we can use the additional revenue for public safety,â Goodrich said. âThe opinion is that rents are too low and attracting people we donât want into our area.â

But, itâs not fair to paint all renters with the same brush, he said.

âMy heartburn on this is the impression we want to solve all of the cityâs public safety problems on the backs of people who own rental properties,â Goodrich said.

Some policies already are in place to punish frequent violators, he said.

Goodrich, who is operations manager for Sierra Dawn Estates, said he would favor increasing business license fees before charging individual renters.

He said landlords now can get a business license for $40 to cover three units and be charged an additional $1 per unit.

âI donât think there should be (one) fee for three properties,â he said. âYou should pay for every property.â

Goodrich said he is unsure if itâs legal to earmark such a fee for public safety, because business license funds go into the cityâs general fund, which pays for most of the cityâs operations.

There was some talk at the last ROCS meeting of exempting senior citizens, but Goodrich said that may not be possible.

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